Black Horizons
by Lo Rezzie No
Summary: “Everybody can face adversity. If you want to test a man’s character - give him power.” - Abraham Lincoln
1. Awakening

**Chapter 1 - Awakening**

"Matt, wake up!" shouted a voice from the student-filled classroom.

A blond-haired kid known as "Matt" jetted up from his sleep, falling out of his desk and onto the floor. The class erupted in a roar of laughter as Matt gotten into a sitting position, shaking his head to get back to reality. The teacher stood in front of Matt, a serious look on her face. Matt knew there was trouble.

"You HAD to fall out of your seat," snapped the teacher, her foot tapping on the tile floor, "and disrupt my class?"

"Sorry, Ms. Rivera," frowned Matt, then chuckled lightly, "I guess I was just startled-"

"If you sleep again in class, I'll send you to Student Affairs with a referral," frowned Ms. Rivera, "You understand me, Mr. Hawkins?"

"Yes, ma'am," sighed Matt in defeat.

"Good," started Ms. Rivera, "now I'm-"

Suddenly, a bell rang from out of nowhere, its ringing spread through the entire school like a virus so that everyone could hear it. Students sprang from their seats, and left class.

"Gah!" groaned the teacher, "you win this round, Matt Hawkins."

"As always," grinned Matt as he nimbly got to his feet, grabbed his notebooks, and left along with the rest of the class.

Matt strolled through the crowd of students with ease. His reddish-gray blazer somewhat stuck out like a sore thumb. With his messy blond hair and his muscular frame, he looked like a jock. But then again, where he was going all that didn't matter to him.

It was fifth period - lunchtime, and Matt was starving. He ordered a few slices of pizza and a bottled water from the lunch lady, and sat down at a table with two of his buddies - Marcel Wallace and Kayro Koran.

Marcel is a prep whose literally worth a million bucks. His dad's a chairman at Sony™, so he's loaded. He gets Matt and Kayro sweet deals at game stores, and also gets them to help beta test oncoming games before they hit the markets.

Kayro is Matt's best friend, and he's a bit paranoid - "bit" being used rather loosely. Whenever you go to a party someplace, he is "that guy", ruining the atmosphere by talking about supernatural conspiracies and doomsday scenarios. He hasn't been right yet, but Matt and Marcel respect his train of thought. He's also very religious, and takes God very seriously.

"Dude, what happened there in Trig?" asked Kayro, taking a bite out of his burger, "I heard that Ms. Rivera tore your ass to shreds.

"She was," Matt chuckled, "but the bell saved my butt before she could get the chance."

"It's all luck of the draw," smirked Marcel, "Say, you guys going to the party at my place this Saturday? There's going to be beer, music, and all that crap."

"Really, now?" nodded Matt, "That's something to look forward too at the end of the week," Matt began grumbling as he ate his pizza.

This seemed to trouble Kayro and Marcel, "Okay, man, what's wrong?" asked Marcel.

"It's Ms. Rivera. She's the oldest **bitch** I've ever met."

"Hey, don't take it harsh, man," grunted Kayro, "It's not you or her fault that she's a prune. Take it easy, and relax for the day."

"I hope she goes to Hell."

Kayro's eyes widened in shock. Matt suddenly realized that he definitely crossed a line, there, and he should've known.

"Dude, what the hell, man?" Kayro gasped, "You're not St. Peter, man! You can't just decide who goes where when they die!"

"I-I'm sorry, man," replied Matt quickly, "I didn't mean it like that-"

"AAAAHHH!!" a shriek of fear split through the chatter of the cafeteria.

Everyone and everything went silent. Matt, Marcel, and Kayro nodded and leapt out of their seat and sprinted towards the source of the scream. When they got there, their jaws dropped in shock.

A woman in her mid fifties was hung next to the wall by a noose. Her arms were outstretched to her sides, and pinned to the wall by a sharp spike. But what was the most freakiest thing about it was that her chest, or at least what was left of it, was completely blown apart, as if a bomb was set off inside of her. Everything within fifty feet of the dead woman was soaked in blood. When the trio arrived about a hundred more students crowded behind them.

"Is that-? No it couldn't be," said Marcel," That's not-"

"It's her," gasped Matt, along with the mob of students behind them, "It's Ms. Rivera…I'd recognize her anywhere."

"Just exactly what the hell happened?" asked Kayro, "This is too coincidental to be a murder-rape, and its way too messy to be any other type of murder I've ever heard of."

"Maybe it's a serial murder," suggested Marcel.

"probably, but there's WAY to much blood to tell," Kayro turned to a girl, who was curled in a ball in the corner, shuddering, "You call 911?"

"Yeah, about a few seconds ago," answered the girl shakily.

"Thank God for that-"

Suddenly, Matt clutched his head in pain. His eyes rolled into his head, and he fell onto the blood-soaked floor, unconscious.

"Matt!" Marcel's voice rang into Matt's mind as he drifted deeper into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Gah!"

Matt woke up from his slumber. He was in a desk, among many other desks. He got his head off the desk and got to a sitting position. He recognized the room he was in; it was Ms. Rivera's class. The only thing was that it was in sepia tone, kind of nostalgic. He turned towards the teacher's desk. It was none other than Ms. Rivera, writing and whispering something inaudible. Out of the mass of words, he heard three of the words echo throughout the almost empty classroom.

"'As Always', eh" snarled Ms. Rivera, then Matt heard a lot more, "we'll see about that…when I get the principal to kick him out of this school."

Matt's eyes then fixated on the paper that Ms. Rivera was writing on. Sure enough, it was a referral, with an expulsive recommendation on it. And it was Matt's name on it.

"Damn it!" cursed Matt.

To his surprise, Ms. Rivera didn't even see, hear, or notice that Matt was standing right in front of her desk. As he was about to take a swing at Ms. Rivera, a voice made him stop his fist mere inches from Ms. Rivera's pensive face.

"Don't do it," the voice sounded feminine, pleading, "It's not worth it."

Matt retracted his fist, and turned around. A girl who was a head shorter than him was standing right in front of him. She was glowing a very bright red light so that her features couldn't be seen, not even her face. Finally, Ms. Rivera's voice shot out, echoing again.

"This doesn't concern you, Lyra," snapped the old teacher, flipping the referral over and jotting down a few words before flipping it back.

"You don't understand, do you? He's important," pleaded Lyra, "You have no idea what he-"

"Matt's a hoodlum; a street urchin," Matt got angry again," he doesn't deserve to be here."

"Really, now?" scoffed Lyra, then she motioned to the door, "come with me, and I'll explain why Mr. Hawkins is so…important."

"Ugh…fine. If you insist," Ms. Rivera flipped the referral over on the back.

The teacher got out of her seat, and followed Lyra out the door. It was strange that the two didn't see, hear, or even acknowledge that he was even there at all.

"Important to what?" Matt asked to himself.

Matt leaned over the teacher's desk, and was about to steal the referral off the desk when he saw what was written on it.

**File Cabinet - Bottom Drawer**

Suddenly, a white light consumed the entire room, blinding Matt.

* * *

"Gah!" Matt jetted up to a sitting position.

He was in the nurse's office, on a stretcher. He leapt off of the said stretcher, and landed feet first on the tile floor. When Matt walked and opened the door, Kayro and Marcel were waiting outside the door for him.

"Matt, what happened out there, man?" asked Kayro, "you were out for three hours!"

"I don't know," answered Matt, "but when I was passed out, I saw some freaking stuff."

"A dream, perhaps?" shrugged Marcel.

"Maybe. Look, I'm still a bit freaked right now. I'll tell you guys about it all tomorrow. But, there's something that I have to do first."

"Eat and sleep?" joked Kayro, "school's ended, man."

"Close, but no. I think Ms. Rivera left me something…important. I'll be back."

Matt walked away from his friends and headed towards the hallways. After a minute or so of walking, he was in front of Ms. Rivera's classroom. The door was slightly ajar, meaning someone didn't close it. Matt opened the door and walked in. The room was void of life, but there were bloody footprints coming from Matt's desk, leading towards the teacher's desk. He walked towards the desk to see the referral on the said desk. He look towards the file cabinet at the far corner of the classroom.

"So it did happen…" gasped Matt.

Matt gripped onto the American flag hanging over the board, and tore it out of its spot. He stormed towards the file cabinet, and stabbed it into the bottom drawer of the cabinet repeatedly. After a few thrusts, the lock on the cabinet drawer broke off.

"God bless America," Matt smirked.

Tossing the flag aside, he opened the cabinet, and pulled out a strange object. It was a thin board that was 18 inches in length and width. It was elegantly crafted, and had numerous letters and words etched onto it. There was also a 1-inch thick triangle block with a hole big enough to see one of the letters if you place it on the board.

"So…what the old bitch who was going to throw me out of school," Matt pondered to himself, "left behind is a…Ouija board?" Matt shrugged, "Better than nothing."

Matt fit the board and the block in his backpack, and closed the cabinet drawer. He placed the flag on the teachers desk, and exited the classroom.

* * *


	2. Ouija Board

**Chapter 2 - Ouija Board**

On the bus, Matt held the Ouija board in his hands. He couldn't help but to think that whenever one of his questions get answered, five more appear in its place. These questions plagued Matt's mind. Why did he have that vision? Who exactly is this "Lyra" girl? Why would Ms. Rivera leave behind a Ouija board? What is Matt so "important to? And what is he supposed to do now? A lesser man would try to push these questions out of his head, and move on with his life in ignorance. But Matt was going to get to the bottom of this. However, before he could decide what to do, a voice made Matt jump out of his seat in surprise.

"A Ouija board, eh?" Matt whirled around to see Kayro, who was smirking at him.

"Holy shi-" Matt caught himself before he could say something he'd regret, "you scared the crap out of me."

Kayro laughed before pointing at the Ouija board, "That must've been what you went back for at the school. Unlike most, I actually know how to use one of those Ouija boards."

"You actually know how to use this thing?" Matt sat back down in his seat.

"I lived my entire life around the whole 'Supernatural Phenomenon'." explained Kayro, "and a Ouija board is as supernatural as it gets. Say, is it okay with your mom if I come over?"

"Yeah, its cool," nodded Matt, "well, here's our stop."

The bus stopped, and opened its doors. Matt and Kayro got off and headed towards Matt's house.

The house was like a classic suburbia. It had dark roof tiles and the rest of the house was painted a light blue. There was no trees in the front or the back, unlike all the other yards of the other suburban houses.

"Man, every time I come here, I feel like I'm in 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'," complained Kayro.

"Which is kinda ironic because my neighbor is Mr. Rogers," joked Matt, despite that the blond is far from joking.

"Oh dear Lord…" sighed Kayro in pity.

Matt and Kayro walked through the front of Matt's house. The only difference was that there was a massive game room with every game and console ever made on cabinets which were on either side of a 40" plasma-screen TV.

"Oh my…"Kayro stared in the game room, jaw dropping, "where did this come from?"

"I've been saving up a lot of money," explained Matt, "If you can't find the game you want in here, then it either doesn't exist or you don't deserve to be anywhere near a video game."

"Damn…so where should we set up this here Ouija board?"

"The living room. By now, mum's already asleep."

The two set off in the living room, and sat down across each other, a coffee table between them. Matt pulled out the Ouija board and the marker, and then he placed both on the table.

"Now normally, we would both place our hands on the marker as it moves," explained Kayro, "but something gives me the feeling that we don't even have to."

"Oh, I see…" Matt nodded, not even having a clue what Kayro was talking about.

"If whatever feeling that told you to get this board is true, then you're either gone crazy, or a spirit was reaching out to you in your dreams. Like a modern day Freddy Kruger without the whole 'IMMA KEEL JOO!' thing. If its #2, then you should be doing the ritual, while I translate from the Ouija board."

"Fair enough," Matt shrugged, and placed the marker on the middle of the board, "Okay now: Sprit, or whatever," Kayro rolled his eyes, "are you there?"

Suddenly, without Matt or Kayro even toughing the marker, it moved to one of the 4 words on the board - "Yes".

"Whoa…Spiritual phenomena went from 20% to 85% in the last 5 seconds," Kayro gasped in astonishment, "this is insane!…What are you waiting for, Matt, ask some more questions."

"A…all right," Matt shuddered, staring at the marker, "Ouija spirit thingy-"

The marker moved now at a fast pace, skimming over several letters, sometimes more than once. After that it stopped on the letter "A". Kayro was keen on the patterns of the marker movements.

"She said that her name's Lyra," explained Kayro.

Matt found the name familiar instantly, but got defensive about it, "Hold up, how would you know that the spirit's a she?"

"C'mon, now, how any dudes do you know that are named 'Lyra'?"

"Lyra, huh?" pondered Matt, "so you're the one who sent me the vision, right?"

"What the-" Kayro's eyes widened as he saw the marker move and stop on "Yes" again.

"Mind explaining why?"

The marker spun in place, signifying yes again, then stopped and moved through some more letters before stopping on "U", "'Yes…in fact, I'll even show you…'?" Kayro paled, "OH SHIT!"

The power went out all the sudden. The curtains blew open, revealing a moonlit night. Kayro quickly whacked aside the Ouija board across the living room. The board was broken into pieces when it came in contact with the wall, but a right light jetted out of the marker, and struck matt right in the heart, knocking the young man out instantly; a red aura surrounding him. Kayro saw as a red ball of light floated out of the remains of the Ouija board and headed slowly towards him. Kayro pulled out a pentagram talisman out of his pocket, and began to chant.

"_Deus vadum lavo vestri everto vox, quod transporto vos tergum ut Abyssus principatus…_" chanted Kayro.

________________________________________________________________________

Matt's eyes opened slowly. To be honest, he didn't know what was going on. He was still in his living room, but there was nothing there, not even the furniture. Kayro nor the Ouija board were there, either. So he knew something was odd. He got to his feet cautiously. Suddenly, a voice almost made Matt shiver slightly. Almost.

"Surprise, surprise, Mr. Hawkins," Matt whirled around.

The girl from his visions was standing before him. She wasn't glowing that red light from his visions, but she still had that dim red glow. She had short, blond hair that went to her shoulders, bright red eyes, and light tan skin. She wore a white tank top, a white short skirt, and white sandals.

"Well, Lyra, you finally showed yourself," Matt smirked, "Now why are we in a dream."

"It's not a dream," frowned Lyra, "it's a vision, like all the others."

"No, this one's definitely a dream," counter-frowned Matt, even if counter-frowning not even a word, "because otherwise you wouldn't be wearing a French maid's outfit right…now!"

"What!?"

Lyra blushed instantly, her clothes faded away, and were replaced with the uniform of a French maid.

"Damn," Matt grinned, savoring the moment, before sitting in a recliner chair that he himself thought up, "remember, Lyra, this is my fiesta, here. So, take a seat, and explain to me how and why I'm so…'important'."

Lyra sighed in defeat, and sat down in the recliner chair opposite of Matt, "Look, normally I would be possessing you. But since your mind pulled a rabbit out of what I consider to be its 'ass', its left me in a position that I could either tell you what I know and how I feel, or be trapped in here forever."

"Please, go on."

"I don't have any idea why your important," shrugged Lyra, "but the other demons are planning to turn this Podunk town into a home base for some demon war. And, from my perspective, I think you can help take them down."

"Defeat them," Matt chuckled, thinking that this was absurd, "this is Rise County, Utah, Lyra. And besides, you're a demon yourself, so why should I help you."

"As you noticed, I'm in no position to be making demands. But no less, you have connections that can be vital to this cause. Your Sony friend, Marcel, has money, and lots of it. And Kayro is a human encyclopedia of demon ecology."

"That's a load of bullshit."

"Bullshit, huh? Then explain why I can't seem to possess Kayro, as well? One of my abilities is to possess two vessels at once, but it seems all I can even do at the moment is only enter, not posses, you. He's holding me off with some sort of powerful talisman. This means that his father must've been a big-time Hunter of Demons. And besides, there's always guidance…"

"Guidance-?"

Suddenly, Lyra was sitting on his lap, facing him. Both of them were blushing, her arms were wrapped around his neck gently. Her face was really close to his.

"If we were to work together, then maybe as a team we could defeat them."

"Ah…" Matt was shell-shocked, but after a few seconds he regained his cool, "Give me some time to think about it. Tomorrow's the fair, and I'm going to be helping set up the stuff. Meet me there, all right?"

Lyra pouted for a second, but nodded, "All right. But I'm going in a vessel."

"A vessel? The hell's a vessel?" asked Matt, confused.

"A vessel is a body that a spirit can take over at will or by force."

Oh, okay. But wait, how am I going to know that it you-"

Lyra suddenly grabbed Matt by the shoulders, and kissed him full-on. She almost yanked his head clear off, showing his mouth inter hers, teeth grinding and clashing like warriors in battle. All that uncertainty that he had was wasted away in a heartbeat. For now, it was only them. After several seconds, or a full minute, they parted.

"Wow…that was…" Matt was currently unable to find the right adjective to describe that moment.

Lyra, however, suddenly flickered away, disappearing off of Matt's lap. That usual bright light consumed the entire area.

Unlike at the school, Matt didn't even bother to notice.

________________________________________________________________________

Matt opened his eyes slowly. It was pretty quiet in the house. Kayro was leaning next to the wall, flipping the pentagram talisman into the air like a coin before catching it and flipping it yet again. He seemed pensive, like a seasoned warrior whose ready to get out into the Arena of Death. Matt got to a sitting position, an looked at Kayro.

"Kayro…you're-"

"That demon, Lyra," Kayro said, flipping the coin, "left a mark on your soul. There's also one on your hand," Matt looked at his right, "the left hand."

Matt cocked his head, and looked at his left hand. He could see a triangular tattoo was engraved on his skin. It was all red, and had a few Latin words in it, too.

"Holy crap…" gasped Matt, scooting backwards a bit.

"Don't worry, she's been exorcised," Kayro caught the talisman and pocketed it, "that normally doesn't happen to a vessel when a demon enters it."

"Whoa, hold on, Kai," frowned Matt, "just what the hell's going on here? And why are you acting like this-"

"We'll discus this," Kayro walked out the door, and closed it before saying, "tomorrow."

Matt was downright confused. He didn't know why Kayro was acting as he was. More or less, not all of his questions were answered. He still didn't know what to do now. But as always, when one of his questions is answered, five more appear in its place.

"Ugh…why me…" groaned Matt, face-palming.


	3. Lich Lover

**Chapter 3 - Lich Lover**

Matt looked out his window, enjoying the snowy day. Today was the Rise County Fair, and the young man knew that he was going to enjoy himself. He figured that after all that he's been through yesterday, it could help put his mind off of it. But like lies, it always comes back to torment him when he least expects it. However, there was two things that he couldn't avoid. The first thing was the demon, Lyra. How did she know his name was no surprise, since she hung with Ms. Rivera for God knows when. But what was strange to Matt was that she seemed to show romantic interest in him. And her knowing about Marcel _and_Kayro basically told Matt that she seemed to follow them around school. The second thing was the Demon Mark on the back of Matt's left hand. It was quite strange how it got there, but even know Matt thought that it would somehow tear him to shreds in his sleep, it never did. Matt looked at the Demon Mark thoughtfully.

"Maybe its like a tag…or something…" pondered Matt.

"Matt! Time to get ready for work!" shouted a voice that was beyond Matt's closed door, obviously his mother.

Matt then panicked. He didn't want his parents to know about the Mark just yet. He frantically got into his work clothes, which consisted of a dark gray sweater, blue jeans, and black work boots. Matt also wrapped leather straps on his arms, shoulders, and across his torso to help keep the heat in. He finally put on his fingerless leather gauntlets to not only keep his hands warm and protected, but to also hide his Demon Mark. He exited his room, and headed towards the living room.

His job was at a ranch on the west side of Rise County, where he works for his father. The hours were good, and the pay was even better, but there was hardly, if any, job satisfaction. When Matt got to the room, he saw his father standing next to a few stacked boxes of metal stuff. Matt could've sworn to God that his father looked like that priest off of "The Mask of Zorro".

"Hey, dad," Matt said in monotone.

"Hey, son," his father nodded cheerfully, "ready to head out?"

"Yeah, better than I'll ever be…"

"Good. Well, then, pick up one of these boxes and load them out to the truck."

"Err…" Matt slowly approached the boxes.

He and his dad knew more than anyone that those boxes were over 150 pounds a piece. Even Matt's father had difficulty even lifting only one. But when Matt gripped onto the edges of the box, an unusual sense of adrenaline pumped through his veins. He lifted the box off the ground with ease, and tucked it under his rm. For some reason it felt light…too light. Needing to double-check this confusion, he then gripped onto another box with his free arm, and tucked that one under the said arm, as well. Both seemed to weigh far too less that what Matt thought.

"What the hell-" his mother gasped.

Matt's father was more surprised than his wife, but after a few seconds or so he regained his composure. Picking up one of the crates, he followed his son out the door. When they loaded the boxes into the truck, Matt's father glared at his son with both frustration and self-loathing. A vein was obviously visible on the middle-aged man's forehead.

"Okay, boy, out with it. What the holy hell was that back there?" asked his father.

"The holy hell was what?" asked Matt innocently, somehow making the vein on his father's head swell bigger.

"You know what I mean, Matt. That was over 300 pounds of iron tools, framing, and scraps. And you carried them like they were nothing. What gives? Last weekend, you were only able to lift one."

"I've been working out a lot, dad," groaned Matt, "two gym classes and this job can really pack on some serious muscle."

"Well, quite frankly, I didn't expect you out of all people to be a Superman," his father frowned, "I'll be sure that you do all the heavy lifting around here. In fact, something important came up just now.

"Wait-what? What is it?"

"You should know…I'm taking the merchants to the Fair for the first time…and you're coming with me."

Matt was surprised. The merchants were probably the most respected individuals in Rise County, and his father worked for many. For them going to something as high-profile as the Fair was as rare as rare can get.

"So…instead of labor work, I get to roll with your zealots this time," pondered Matt before grinning, "I'm in."

"Great," Matt's father circled around the car to the driver's side, "However, there's a few ground rules you need to know first."

"As always."

"Now, mind your manners, and do as I say. And speak to no one unless you downright have to," explained his father as he opened the car door. But before he could hop in and close the door, he chuckled, "and for goodness sake…DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING."

Matt raised an eyebrow and cocked his head, but got in the car anyway, closing the door behind himself. His father started up the truck, backed up out of the driveway, and drove away from the house. After a half hour of awkward silence, his father spoke once more.

"You know, your mother and I were planning on paying for your college tuition," Matt's father said, trying to make conversation to break the silence, "but if you don't want to go-"

"I do, dad, I really do," Matt looked at his father incredulously, "I'm just going through a bit of a rough patch right now."

"Fair enough," he nodded, "but exactly which college do you intend to go to?"

"Somewhere, Matt said simply, "trust me, I'll know which one when I see it."

"All…right…" Matt's father still nodded, but it was one of uncertainty, "anyway, we're here now."

The truck rolled to a stop in a parking lot just a few feet outside what was the fair. The two got out of the truck and looked around. The place was packed with thousands of people, all who were either merchants, vendors, tourists, all sorts of people. Matt remembered it being like this all the times that the Fair was open.

_'Maybe on this one something interesting will happen'_, thought Matt before saying to himself, "Like Lyra."

"Reh? You say something, son?" asked his father curiously.

"Ah, no, no…of course not."

"O…kay. Anyway, pick up ONE of the boxes in the trunk, take it to the 'Knives & Knights' vendor, and drop it off. Then you wait there for further orders, either from me or one of the other merchants that I send to you. Trust me, we want to stay discreet and undercover, and having over 9000 people knowing that you're the 'Juggernaut, bitch'!" Matt's father made a face resembling that of the Juggernaut off of "X-Men: The Last Stand"™, making Matt struggle to hold in a laugh, "is a bad plan. You got that?"

After suppressing his laughter, he nodded, "Yes sir…"

Matt reached into the trunk, and pulled out one of the boxes. He tucked it under his right arm, and took off into the crowds of people in stride. He seemed to slide and glide through the crowds, as if he was an amoeba or even a bird. The people didn't seem to notice him, being preoccupied in their own business. However, he accidentally bumped into a large, obese man, somehow knocking the man on his back. The man was more angry than he was surprised. He struggled to his feet, and snarled at Matt as the boy walked right past him, going deeper into the crowd.

"You, boy! Come here!" the large man's fists shook in anger.

Matt didn't hear him, minding his own business like everyone else was. He would rather do his job rather than argue with the 350-pound blob. And besides, the 'Knives & Knights' vendor was about 100 feet away. He walked faster, skidding through the snow as if he was wearing a pair of skis. When he reached the vendor, he places the box of iron supplies on the front desk. Suddenly, a stubby hand gripped onto Matt's shoulder strap, and whirled the young man around to face him. Matt then realized that it was none other than the large obese man, and he looked furious.

"You better show some respect to me, you little shit," snarled the man, "or I'll beat it into you."

"How about you get some common sense, and get out of my face, fatty ," Matt didn't take kindly to threats, mainly on himself, "or I'll beat it into you."

When Matt said those words, he felt that odd feeling of adrenaline again, this time it was stronger.

However, the large man didn't take notice to Matt's counter-threat, more focused on his backtalk, "I'll show you to respect me! Learn your place!!"

The large man aimed a punch towards Matt's face. Matt swiftly caught the punch, and squeezed the large man's fist. He felt as the man's bones & fingers were being crushed, broken, and grinded. The large man fell to his knees in pain, clutching his broken disfigured hand. Matt then aimed a dropkick towards the man's face. As if by a supernatural force besides Matt, the large man was sent flying across the street, crashing and totaling the "Taco Bell"™ vendor. Most of the people turned to see the destruction, but no one noticed that it was Matt who caused it. Wanting to make sure it stayed that way, Matt snuck behind the 'Knives & Knights' vendor.

As Matt hid behind the vendor, he looked at the Demon Mark on his hand. Surprisingly to Matt, the mark was glowing with a very dim red light before fading. After a few seconds of plainly staring a the Mark on his hand, his knees grew weak, and Matt slumped to the ground.

"Oh my frisking God," Matt groaned, "what have I got myself into?"

"You should know by now, Matt."

Matt swooped to his feet in a heartbeat, and turned to his right. Approaching him was none other than Lyra, who was having that "Ah well…" look on her face. She was wearing the exact same thing that she wore in Matt's dream, only this time it was in black. As she got closer, she smiled a small smile.

"Nice to see you again, Matthew Hawkins."

"Ah, hey Lyra," Matt said as he stepped forward, then looked at her from head to toe, "I can take a gander that you kept your word on the vessel."

"That I have," Lyra continued to smile, her red irises flashing

"Now that that's cleared up, explain to me WHAT THE HELL'S BEEN HAPPENING TO ME!?" hissed Matt.

"Oh, that…"

"Shady mean 'that'? How come I've suddenly become so-"

"Powerful?" Lyra then shrugged, "well, you can thank Kayro for that one, too. It turns out that it wasn't an exorcism that he tried to pull on me."

"It wasn't?" asked Matt, then he chuckled jokingly, "Well, that explains why you're still here-"

"As I was saying," Lyra cut, "The exorcism that wasn't an exorcism was actually quite an old, powerful spell - 3000 years old to be more precise. It was designed to strip the energy and abilities of one individual and surge it into another nearby individual. Although-"

"It wasn't that much of a choice since I was the only one who could carry that kind of energy…besides Kayro for that matter."

"Kayro couldn't take that energy even if he wanted to," chuckled Lyra, "the spell caster is immune to his spell work, and therefore couldn't have chosen himself. And the person to take the power is sort of a proxy that has to be both nearby and completely at random. But since you were the only one nearby-"

"I was the sole choice," nodded Matt, "So…now that we cleared the hard part out of the way, what sort of powers did I get out of you?"

"Beats me," sighed Lyra, "Demons commonly have amplified strength, but not as amplified as yours as you demonstrated earlier on fatty at the Taco Bell…vendor?" Matt nodded, then Lyra continued, "but apart from that, you could get a whole new list of abilities that are completely your own."

"Sweet," Matt said, smirking, "so what now? What of your half-wit demon buddies?"

"They're not half-wits!" pouted Lyra, "and I found out that their mad at you for what happened to me-"

"Sorry, but just a quick question, just off topic," Matt pondered, "since I have your juice, err…powers, and shit like that, don't that make you as human as the rest of us? Powerless?"

"Lyra's eyes widened, and a smirk formed on her face, "Rivera was wrong about you, Matt; you're smarter than you look. Yes, I'm only as strong as any human who hasn't been augmented."

"You mean…there are others? Like me?" Matt's eyes widened in surprise.

"Very few, yes. But the demons wiped them out a while ago because they fear that if they grow too powerful-"

"then they would turn on the demons whenever they get the chance."

Matt looked towards the ground, saddened, but regained his composure and looked back at Lyra.

"So," Matt said, sounding a bit worried, "how exactly do your demon buddies tend to go to get their hands on me?"

"Well, usually their pretty straightforward with their actions. But another thing they do is torture someone close tot the intended target, usually they are-"

"Friends and family," finished Matt, paling more and more, "Marcel! Mom! Dad!!"

"Don't worry, that usually doesn't happen," soothed Lyra, calming down Matt a bit.

Suddenly, a merchant swung around the corner into the alleyway, spotting Matt and Lyra close by. Having a feeling of uneasiness in his gut and his balls, he approached the two.

"Are…" stammered the merchant, "are you by any chance Matt Hawkins?"

Matt turned to face the merchant, frowning, "Yeah, that's me. What's up?"

"Well, it seems that there was an explosion in the Argon Forest a few miles west of here. And your father appears to have not returned yet. Matt, I'm sorry, but I believe that your father may have been…Matt?"

Matt turned away, mouth gaping and his head drooped to the ground, his facial expression was that of beyond shocked.

"Son of a bitch…" the expression turned to that of rage, of desperate fury, "Son of a bitch!" He kicked a wooden box, blowing it to shards, revealing a blue ocarina chilling amongst the rubble, "Goddamn it-huh?"

Matt spotted the blue ocarina in the remains of the box. He picked it up slowly and examined it. It was sky blue, and seemed to glow in the winter sunlight. It seemed a little bigger than a baked potato. Matt put his right hand on his hip and held the ocarina up loftily, cocking his head to the side. Lyra and the merchant were perplexed.

"Well, that's interesting," pondered Matt, "oh well, finders keepers," he then stashed it in one of his jeans pockets, then he grew angry and screamed, "Goddamn it!!"

"Matt, please relax-"soothed Lyra.

"Relax!?" snapped Matt, "tell me, how the FUCK can I even possibly relax about something like this?" blue static seemed to surge through Matt, but it was only for a split second, so that no one would notice, "you said that they don't do this kind of thing! That they are straightforward!"

"Yeah, and I also said 'usually'!" sighed Lyra, "it seems that they want you to come to them. But first, you need to chill out, AND MAYBE WE CAN FIND A WAY TO SAVE HIM-"

"All right, all right, I'll calm down," panted Matt, "anyway, I just think what we need to do is wing it."

"Wing it?"

"That's right - wing it. If they want me, I'll go right to them. I should be able to handle my own."

"Wait, what-"

Matt gripped onto Lyra's arm, and swung her over his back, so that it appeared that Lyra was piggy-backing Matt. Matt then took out at a full sprint like a bat out of Hell, flying past people and machines alike. A trail of powdered snow trailed behind Matt as he ran. As Matt was passing cars and such, a motorbike and its rider pulled up next to Matt, going at the same speed as Matt.

"Dude, Matt, what the heck is this?" said the surprised, familiar voice.

"Kayro! How nice to see you, ya bastard," snapped Lyra as she clung onto Matt like a barnacle, "How does it feel knowing that you gave all my powers to Matt instead of sending me back to the Pit?"

"A lot better, actually, because anything crafty enough can escape Hell," smirked Kayro, "although Matt don't look like he's enjoying flying at 70 miles per hour in the snow."

"Nothing I can't handle," Matt grunted, "  
Kayro, could you call Marcel and my Mom? I fear that their lives are in danger, and we need to keep them protected."

"I figured as much, since that demon is humping your back."

Lyra hissed, sending new shivers down Matt's spine, making Lyra's legs wrap tighter around his waist.

"If I'm right, which I usually am," explained Kayro, "he's probably at his manor, getting a lap dance from his whipping girl, Naomi. I swear, that Chi-Negro better get his balls up and get the big picture. I'll give him a call."

"All right," Matt nodded, "there was an explosion a mile or so from here. My dad's probably in the thick of it. After when you give the calls, you wanna help us check out the site?"

"Sure thing, I'm always up for a little rumble. And do be careful with that stain on your back," Kayro rode away down the highway.

"Ah, go suck a nut!" hissed Lyra as Kayro rode away.

Matt looked up to see a trail of smoke fluffing into the sky, out of the thick of the trees. Matt shot into the woods like a bullet, dodging trees, rocks, large 4-legged animals, and pretty much anything that got in his way. When he reached the area of where the smoke was coming from, his eyes widened in shock, and he fell to his knees, allowing Lyra to get off easily.

"Jesus frigging crap…" gasped Matt.

The entire area was ground zero, with multiple small craters littering the area. About three or four trucks, or at least what was left of them, were sprawled and spread over the place like butter. There were also multiple dead bodies lying around that were grotesquely shredded, burned, or blown apart. Matt slowly counted the bodies in his mind. Seven exactly, all of them were merchants. Matt gotten to his feet.

"The dead look fresh," Matt pondered, "at least 10 minutes ago-"

"Ugh…"

Matt turned to where the voice came from. He saw none other than his father, collapsed next to the front-end of his destroyed truck. His arm was bleeding badly, soaking the snow in crimson. Matt sprinted towards him, and skidded to a stop a few feet in front of him. He kneeled down to face his father.

"D-dad…"

"Matt?…Thank God…you're here," said Matt's father , gasping for breath, straining his voice.

"One of your own led me here. Dad, what happened here?"

"It was a…massacre. A hunter…pale blue skin…" Matt's father coughed, blood splattering the snow just a little more, "merchants…all dead…killed in fire…and ice…"

"Fire? Sounds far-fetched, there hasn't been a lick of fire around Rise County for almost a year, now."

"There's more…after killing merchants…he came to me…and asked for you…"

"Asked for me?"

"Wait, what?" called out Lyra, "were the hunter's eyes black or red?"

"No…they were…green…" answered Matt's father, looking at Lyra.

"Green?…oh no…"

"Matt…listen…you must avenge me…I never thought…I'd say this, but…I hold no value in this world…anymore…"

"Don't talk, dad - save your strength. Here," Matt ripped off one of his sweater sleeves, and strapped it on his father's arm to stop the bleeding, "there, that will hold you for a while longer. Keep awake, and do NOT head towards the shiny light, no matter how awesome it may seem."

"All…right…"

Matt got up to his feet, and headed towards Lyra.

"So…what are we up against, since you know that your demon buddy has green eyes?"

"A lich, an elemental mage from Hell. But I know this one in particular, goes by Sable, one of more powerful demons from Hell."

"Sable? How is he important?"

"He's a watch guard of Hell, but he's stronger than most green-eyed demons."

"Oh, so in other words, the Devil's sending scouts to take me out?"

"You must be quite famous downstairs."

"Oh, so how do we take out Sable?"

"With hand-to-hand combat, and an exorcism. We can't exactly kill Sable, but exorcising it can at least get him out of our hair for a long time."

"Okay, sounds good to me…But personally, I think we should get some guns. Just in case."

"Did somebody say 'guns'?"

A shotgun flew through the air, heading towards Matt and Lyra. Matt swiftly caught it in the air, and aimed it forward. A black man in a white sweater held his hands up.

"Marcel?" Matt lowered the shotgun, "Holy crap, what are you doing here?"

"Guess where I found him?" Kayro walked around Marcel, "He was just leaving to meet you at the fair. Ironic, huh?"

"Shut up, fool!" snapped Marcel, "anyway, what the hell happened here?"

"Bear pack attack," Matt said quickly, "whole cluster fuck of bears just tearing the shit out of everything in sight. My dad got screwed in the process. Marcel, could you take dad to the hospital?"

"Whoa, sure thing, man. I don't want Mr. H's last words to be 'Nigger, you better quit fucking around or I'm gonna beat your black ass to kingdom come!'," Marcel walked over to Matt's father, and lifted him up in a fireman's carry, "Won't take long for me to get Mr. H to the hospital. Later man."

Marcel took off in the direction that he went in. Matt turned to Lyra and Kayro.

"Kayro, maybe you should take the gun," Matt tossed the shotgun to Kayro, who caught it in one hand.

"Fair enough. So we up against a…" Kayro said, trailing off for some reason.

"A lich, goes by Sable," groaned Lyra.

"Ah, well then I think I'll go well with the shotgun," he cocked it confidently, "lets roll."

"Not yet, wiseass," sighed Lyra, "we don't know where to go."

"We go left."

"Wait, what?" asked Kayro.

"We go left, simple as that. There's a park nearby from here, and people are usually there. Go with the flow."

Kayro and Lyra were silent as owls at daytime. Lyra then spoke.

"That…makes sense," said Lyra slowly, "well, you lead the way, Matt."

Matt turned left and walked in a straight line through the woods, not even thinking about stopping. Kayro and Lyra shrugged and followed him into the thick.

________________________________________________________________________

"Okay, we're here," Matt said, stopping after thirty minutes of nonstop walking.

"Finally," Lyra groaned, "my legs were killing me."

"Now you know how your victims feel," snorted Kayro.

"Can it, pecker!" Lyra glared daggers at Kayro.

When Matt, Lyra, and Kayro stepped out of the woods, they were floored with surprise.

The park was a tundra. Nothing in the area didn't have snow consuming it. The large pond that was in the middle of the snow was not only iced over, but was covered stealthily by a thick layer of snow, making it blend in with the rest of the area, as if there was no pond at all

"Wow, this place is beautiful," Lyra's eyes glowed with an almost childish joy.

"Oh, gee, the dirt mop has the compatibility for joy?" scoffed Kayro, "besides torturing people?"

"Shove it, hunter wannabe-"

"Okay, how about both of you shut the hell up," groaned Matt, "This sable douche is definitely here. Judging from what dad told me, and from the scenery here, I'd say that Sable is 6 feet tall, pale blue skin, has a gimp in his left leg," Matt turned around towards Kayro and Lyra, before paling and saying slowly, "and is wearing gold chain mail - gangster customized to be more precise…"

"What the-how the heck do you know he's wearing gold chain mail?"

A shadowy man that fitted Matt's description perfectly strutted up behind Kayro and Lyra, his forest green eyes flashing brightly in his shadowiness. However, besides Matt, no one saw or even noticed that the man was right there behind them.

"Because he's standing right there behind you. Move, you retards!" Matt shouted.

Kayro and Lyra whirled around, and all of them immediately leapt backwards and took cover several meters behind Matt, but still standing out in the open. Sable aimed a massive backhanded strike towards Matt, but the young man made a huge backflip away from the green-eyed demon, narrowly dodging the incoming strike. He landed softly on the ground a yard away from Lyra and Kayro. Matt then charged at Sable with blinding speed, and threw a punch at Sable's gut. Sable caught the punch with ease, but was surprised at what power was behind it. Large quantities of snow were swept away by the force of the impact. Sable regained composure, and laughed evilly while still holding Matt's hand.

"That tickled," said Sable, then gave a devious grin, "now go back to daddy!"

Matt was then thrown like a softball, flying through the air for quite some distance. However, along the way, he crashed into Lyra, sending Matt skipping across the snow like a rock across a lake. Lyra was knocked unconscious as soon as Matt crashed into her. Matt stopped skidding and began to roll, crossing the pond in just a few seconds, and came to a stop at the edge of the pond. He slowly got to his feet, gasping for breath as the crisp, cold air ran through his lungs like a rake through a yard of leaves. Sable slowly stalked over to Matt, not even bothering with Kayro, as if he didn't exist. Kayro cocked his shotgun defiantly, the sound so loud that it could be heard all the way from Las Vegas. Sable same to a stop directly in the middle of the lake, at least 10 good meters away from Matt.

"I can see that you have potential, but you don't look half as powerful as all the others," Sable cackled, but frowned, "Unfortunately for you, you have to go to Hell. A pity, you could've been powerful," he aimed his hand at Matt, Matt's body began to ice over slowly from the boots up, "Die, Matt Hawk-"

**_BOOM!_**

Sable's chain mail was blown to pieces, falling into the thick snow. Sable's pale blue chest was revealed, showing his thinness, his sickness. The left side of his abdomen was bleeding his demonic black blood from a few holes. The demon whirled around to see Kayro grinning, and holding his shotgun, which was smoking from the barrel. Sable's green eyes flashed wildly. Kayro quietly and slowly cocked the shotgun as he stared at what might've been his death.

"You bitch! That was my favorite chain mail! You will regret-uh-oh…"

**_BOOM!_**

Sable took the shotgun blast full force to the torso, sending the green-eyed demon flying back, landing in front of Matt. Matt took this time to free himself of his icy prison, which gotten up to his waist. The icy prison was shattered like glass, littering the snow and Matt's blue jeans. Matt bent over, and grabbed Sable by the throat with one hand, and hoisted him up into the air with ease. Sable looked like a wreck. His Insides were blown to shreds, multiple holes the size of cashews littered his body from front to back, and his green eyes were slowly going dull, losing their luster.

"Well, now, Kayro simonized your ass pretty good," Matt said, admiring the damage done to Sable, before punching a hole deep into the demon's gut wound, a scream jetting loose from Sable's mouth, " 'I can see that you have potential'," mocked Matt, " 'but you don't look half as powerful as all the others. Unfortunately for you, you have to go back to Hell. A pity, you could've been powerful'…like me."

Matt yanked his hand out of Sable's torso, black blood gushing out of the wound. Matt then slammed the demon into the snow, just above the iced-over pond. Sable collapsed through the ice and snow, and crashed into the icy waters below. Kayro ran forward, and tossed an old, beaded necklace with a crucifix fixed on it into the hole that Sable made. Flashes of red light flickered in the water, and then there was silence.

"_Permissum Deus ostendo misericordia in suus animus_," chanted Kayro, bowing his head in a sign of moral respect.

"Let God have mercy on your soul?" groaned Lyra, who got to her feet after her unconscious outburst, "kind of a cynical outburst under your so-called God." she added, seething.

"Lyra, don't…" groaned Matt.

"Let her talk. She's just angst that we have, more or less, killed one of her own kind," frowned Kayro, "personally, I didn't expect to shoot Sable twice. Oh well, they die in the end, anyway."

Lyra charged forward at Kayro, a large icicle in her hand, ready to kill, "I'm going to kill you, you bastard-"

"Oh, damn it all!"

As Lyra was about to raise the icicle to pierce Kayro, a rumbling noise trembled through the area. She hesitated and lowered her weapon, and looked around, confused.

"What the hell was that?"

"Sable isn't dead yet?" frowned Kayro, "I find it hard to believe that turning that entire pond into holy water didn't even work. Must've-"

Suddenly, a massive fist out of the snow, the force making the three stagger back. Kayro, unfortunately, dropped his shotgun on accident.

"Holy crap!" Matt cursed, "Sable's gone crazy!

Sable shot out of the snow, and stood before the three. The demon was massive, looking exactly like a yeti if it weren't for the green eyes and massive fangs. He stood at 12 feet even, and had more fur than a polar bear, as well as more muscle than Mr. Galaxy. He roared a demonic roar that even made Lyra cringe and whimper slightly.

"You fools!" snarled Sable, "In your pathetic attempts of my destruction, you have only made me stronger! Now, I shall see to the end of your meaningless existences, starting with you, silver-haired human!"

"Aw, crap…" groaned Kayro.

Kayro dove hard to the left, barely dodging by an inch as a fist came down and crushed the snow, covering Sable in a blanket of snow. Kayro pointed towards Sable.

"Matt! The shotgun!" Kayro shouted.

Sure enough, the shotgun was sticking out of its blanket of snowy armor on its shoulder, aimed too perfectly at Sable's head. However, Matt was suddenly tensing up, like he was enduring an ice-cream headache. Lyra looked at Matt confused, but then took one step back; she knew what was coming.

"That's it! Enough is enough!" shouted Matt in a rant, "I've had it with these motherfucking demons in my motherfucking town!!" Matt charged at Sable, blue static surging though Matt, "you first, you damn dirty ape!"

Sable was surprised by Matt's anger, as well as the power coming from the augmented human, but it might work to the green-eyed demon's advantage. He aimed a massive downward punch towards Matt, backed up by the force of a freight train. However, instead of dodging it, Matt caught it in mid-swing, making a crater in the ground that stretched for ten feet from Matt in every direction. He leapt atop of Sable's hand, and aimed a scissors kick towards the demon's elbow. Like a twig, the arm shattered and crumpled to Sable's side.

"YAAARGH!!" yelped Sable in pain.

Matt flipped onto its right shoulder, gripping onto the fur on its body. Sable tried to grab Matt, but his left arm was too massive to even reach him.

"All strength and no ability," chuckled Matt, "I'll make your death very painful."

Matt snatched the shotgun out of the demons furry, snowy tricep. He then cocked it hand held the barrel right at Sable's temple. The demons suddenly stopped struggling and stopped in place, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Time to die!" shouted Matt as he began to pull the trigger.

"Wait, don't kill me yet," Sable groaned, making Matt stop and get his trigger finger off the trigger, "you are a supreme weapon, Matt, even in a day. But still, for every demon that you kill, a far stronger one steps forward in its place. So, for you and the ones that you love, for their sakes, become stronger than this. Trust me, unlike me, Alastair has no mercy for the living."

"Alastair?"

"You'll find out about him in due time," chuckled Sable, "now you can kill-"

**_BOOM!_**

Matt didn't even bother to give Sable the chance to finish, due to that he blew the green-eyed demon's head off, sending it flying towards the ground. Finally, Sable was dead. However, Lady Luck can be cruel and sadist. The head of Sable began to veer, heading right towards Lyra.

"Oh crap!" Lyra couldn't move, powerless, creeping silently towards her death.

Matt leapt right off the corpse of Sable, rushed forward, and caught the eviscerated head, and then he tossed it at a nearby tree, making it explode in a viscera of brains, skull fragments, and fur. It littered the snow, and splattered blood all over Matt and Lyra. Surprised, they staggered back, trying to shake & scrape the blood off of themselves.

"Augh," groaned Lyra, "you idiot! I'm all covered in blood!"

"Yeah, well, it definitely wasn't what I had in mind," snapped Matt, but then he saw Lyra's face soften up a lot.

"But you saved me…a demon," Lyra ceased her feeble attempts of cleansing the blood off of herself, "you are truly an unusual person."

"Yeah, I kind of figured as much."

"Care to explain why?"

"Well," Matt had difficulty letting lose the reason, "Because I…oh, damn it all!"

Matt stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her full on the lips. Lyra was taken aback by this surprise for a few seconds before she wrapper her arms around his neck and started kissing him back.

Kayro, who had been on the other side of the corpse of Sable, watched as his friend and the demon that Kayro despised so passionately were in bloody embrace. He found this not only shocking, but unusual, as well. A demon so…willingly, to express love and passion to a human was nothing that Kayro had ever seen, read or heard of before. There was no research that states that this was a sin, nor was there any demon-human relationships ever. Finally, Kayro spoke.

"I…I did not know why you were so keen on Matt," Matt and Lyra parted, blushing, "until now. Lyra, Matt, I have wrong you with my prejudice, and for that, I am truly sorry," he then bowed a low bow, his head looking towards his own sneakers.

"Dude, relax," Matt nodded, "you had more than enough reason to dislike this. Hell, I would've felt the same way if I was in your shoes."

"Wait, what?" Lyra's jaw dropped.

"It's nothing, babe," Matt chuckled, which was enough to calm down Lyra, "look, the point is that we're still cool. You feel me?"

"I understand," Kayro nodded, then he turned to Lyra, "So, Lyra, normally you would be dead as fucking fried chicken. But since Matt loves you, and I respect Matt, I have no reason to kill you. But if you cause any crap, and I'll know, I will not be as fair as Matt is."

"Eh, whatever," shrugged Lyra.

Suddenly, a phone began to ring. Matt's hand swooped into his back pocket, and pulled out a cell phone. He pushed a button, and answered the phone.

"Hello?" asked Matt.

Matt, this is Marcel, the voice of Marcel rang through the speakers into Matt's ears.

"Yo, man, what's up?"

Nothing good, Matt had a look of worry on his face, your dad's getting patched up at the hospital. He'll be back tomorrow.

"That's good to hear," Matt said, relieved, "so what's the problem?"

Matt, it's about yo moms, Matt paled, Mr. H asked me to call her, but she wouldn't answer any of my calls. He then asked me to go over to your house to check on her, let her know about him.

"Oh shit…"

It was gruesome, some dude in a black business suit got to yo moms before I could. So much blood…Matt, I'm so sorry for your loss.

"No!" Lyra and Kayro jumped up in surprise, "You get a good look at him? What did he look like?"

Nigger, you're weird, Marcel chuckled over the phone, he looked pretty normal, but however, his eyes looked real strange in the light.

"Where they black? Red? Green?" Matt asked almost desperately.

No, man, Marcel replied ominously, they were white.


	4. Black Cross

**Chapter 4 - Black Cross**

Funerals have never been easy on Matt. The feeling of someone you know dying, and the multitude of people that knew that person, mourning and weeping for the departed; it proves that any death, every death, no matter who or what it was, is saddening. But Matt was more saddened than he should be - he did lose his mother after all.

Like he predicted, everyone that his mother knew or loved were there at the cemetery, overlooking her oaken coffin as it was hovered over a coffin-sized hole, ready to be put in the ground like all the others. Matt noticed that not only his relatives were here, but also his friends, and their loved ones, as well. Marcel with his girlfriend Naomi, Kayro with his foster siblings, his brother Ghost, and his sister Arisu. But more importantly, his beloved, Lyra, the demon that loved him like no other, stood behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist loosely. If she was mourning for her love, then she didn't show.

After the reverend said his piece of Christian mumbo-jumbo, he strolled slowly, but then stopped and looked over in Matt's general direction. His eyes turned pitch black, his lips curling into a nasty grin. He held it for a few seconds, but then his eyes turned back to normal. However, his nasty grin still smoldered his face, and continued to do so as he strutted away.

'_The reverend…he's definitely one of them_,' Matt thought to himself, '_I'll deal with him soon enough._'

His father broke apart from the crowd slowly, holding a basket of red, white, and black roses. One by one, he passed each person at the burial site a rose, color didn't matter. However, Matt thought too much of his mother to put a black rose on the coffin. So when his father approached him, he offered a black rose. Matt, however, glared at it defiantly.

"No, dad, I won't place a black rose on mom's coffin," sighed Matt, "it would be more honorable if I were to place a red or a white one on her coffin."

Matt's father's face twisted into that of anger rather quickly, and snatched the black rose from his own son's hand. He then grabbed a white one roughly from the basket, and threw it at his son's face. Matt quickly caught it before it reached his face, then glared daggers at his father.

Matt's father had a look of fear on his face, realizing that he crossed a line, a very lethal line. The black rose that he snatched from his son withered and burst into blue flames, before disappearing in an instant, the rose burnt to a crisp in the father's hand. No one else saw this, too preoccupied in their mourning, but the father fell to his knees, shell-shocked. Lyra stepped forward, and picked up a red rose. Matt walked slowly towards the coffin, and placed the rose in the center, its dew making it gleam in the sun.

"I hope you find peace in heaven…mother," sighed Matt, a tear streaming from his right eye.

Matt gripped onto the edge of the coffin, and fell to his knees, weeping like all the others. He had his head low, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping into the snow, which pierced holes through it quickly. Uneasily, Marcel took a few steps forward, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dog, its not your fault that she went down the way she did," frowned Marcel, "No one would've seen it coming."

Matt snapped back into reality, but with a pissed off look on his face.

"You don't shed a tear for my mother…?" Matt didn't dare look at his face.

"Some weep, some die a little inside. Me? I keep my sorrow inside," huffed Marcel.

"But I admit, you're right about one thing - it's not my fault at all."

"That's good to hear, man."

"Not mine at all," Matt then snarled, and whirled around, "IT WAS YOURS!!"

As Matt whirled, he decked Marcel across the face, sending him flying back, sprawling across the ground before flipping back first into a sycamore 100 feet away, nearly shattering the giant tree. Everyone at the cemetery stood there, shocked at Matt's anger, as well as his power. In a flash, Matt had Marcel by the throat, pinning the black man to the sycamore. Marcel tried to break out of it, but he was unaware of Matt's superior power, and was helpless under the blonde augmented human.

"How dare you, Marcel!" snarled Matt, "how dare you stand there and try to make things right when it was you who let this happen!"

"Matt!" Naomi rushed up, trying to tug at Matt's arm, but it yet to budge, "stop it, you're killing him!"

"Naomi, this has yet to concern you!" Naomi backed off in an instant, then Matt rounded back on Marcel, "you were standing right there when it all happened! Right there!!"

"M…Matt…" gasped Marcel.

"I wager to the Devil that you didn't even call over there at all, didn't you?"

"N…no…" this got everyone's attention, with their gasps overweighing the gagging of Marcel.

"Then I might as well kill you now!"

Matt began to squeeze tighter on Marcel's throat, ready to kill who Matt once called his friend. Suddenly, Lyra gripped onto Matt's shoulder.

"That's enough," Lyra said soothingly.

"But," Matt said, "but he-"

"No, Matt, let it go. What's done is done. No one can change that."

"…Very well, then…"

Matt roughly slammed the nearly-dead Marcel to the ground, sounds of bones cracking were heard by those close enough. Matt looked over to Lyra, and nodded, then he turned back to Marcel.

"Looks like I learned something today," Matt snarled, "never trust a nigger whenever demons are on the loose. Enjoy the rest of your day, you two-faced son of a bitch."

Matt turned heel, and stormed off deeper into the cemetery. Kayro and Lyra jogged to catch up with him, while Naomi kneeled over Marcel's broken and battered body, trying to get her lover to get to his feet. Matt stopped a quarter mile from the burial site, resting on a bench next to a small lake in the middle of the cemetery. Lyra approached Matt and sat down next to him, while Kayro leaned next to the bench.

"What was that all about, Matt?" asked Lyra.

"I was mad at Marcel because of what he did," frowned Matt, "he didn't have the heart to tell me to my face that he left mom for death by that white-eyed evil demon, and the fact that he didn't even bother to call her, to check on here to see if she was even there. I couldn't leave that kind of vengeance undone."

"Dude, not everything has to end in blood," Kayro sighed, "you know that better than anything."

"Be that as it may, I'd rather not press the topic. Too much drama flying around this."

"Sounds good to me, honey," Lyra's head rested on Matt's shoulder, which made Matt smile slightly.

"Anyway, I have a feeling that the reverend is one of them."

"He is," Kayro sat down on the other side of Matt, "we saw his black eyes."

"Then you know what that means, don't you?"

"Not sure, but I'd start with the reverend before you come across the WEED."

"WEED?…I like it. Sounds catchy," Matt pondered.

"So…you need our help, or…" Lyra asked, raising her head up.

"No, I got this one. If anything powerful comes after me, they can't exactly kill me without knowing what they're up against."

"Good point. Go get 'em."

Matt got up from his , and ran off at high speeds, running across the small lake, heading towards the church. Kayro looked at Lyra, confused.

"You worried even for a second that I brought 3 flasks of holy water with me?" asked Kayro, frowning.

"No, not really," chuckled Lyra.

________________________________________________________________________

"Well, now, that didn't take long at all," mused Matt, looking up at a building.

The building was the Rise County Catholic Church, which was one of the most largest buildings in town. But despite this, it was the most common building in Rise County, so one had to be a retard not to know where everything was in the church. Matt cracked his knuckles, and approached the church slowly.

"It's game time," chuckled Matt, now having a complete sense of confidence.

As Matt approached the double doors to the front entrance to the church, he had a strange feeling of darkness, as if it were waiting for him. The feeling passed and Matt kicked the double doors open, ready to fight if he had to. However, as Matt stepped foot into the church, all his confidence and determination shook.

"Son of a bitch…" groaned Matt.

Inside the church, there were about 10 people inside of there, plus the reverend. They all looked up at him, glaring daggers at him. Matt was confused now, what were these people doing in here? The suddenly, they had an evil scowl on all their faces, and their eyes turned pitch black. The reverend cocked his head, and had that nasty grin.

"Ah, hello, Matt, you're just in time for your death. And here we were thinking you wouldn't make it," chuckled the reverend.

"Where's Alastair?" demanded Matt, pointing a finger just as demanding at the evil preacher, "y'know, white eyes, killed my mom?"

"You know _the_ Alastair?" the reverend look amazed to see that the augmented human knew Alastair, "Wow, Sable can't just keep his mouth shut, can he?"

"True that, so where is he?" Matt seemed impatient.

"Just up the stairs, in the study doing what he does best," the reverend gripped the altar tightly, "but you're going to have to go through all of us to get to him."

"Sounds like a plan," Matt cracked his knuckles, grinning, "bring it on, you dark sum-bitches."

"Kill him!" shouted the reverend, pointing a finger at Matt.

The demons leapt out of their seats, and turned to face Matt. One of them broke out of the bunch, and charged at Matt, fist cocked back, ready to assault him. When the demon got within 5 feet of Matt, Matt fazed in front of it, and aimed an uppercut at the demon, sending it into a back flip. He then snatched it by the face in midair, flipped the demon to a right-side up position, and slammed it headfirst into the concrete floor. The force of the slam, along with the hardness of the concrete and the strength of Matt, crushed the demon's head flat like a pancake. Blood, brains, and bits of bones were splattered over the place, covering Matt halfway in blood.

Three more charged at him, throwing everything from punches to sandals at him. Matt blocked, flipped, and rolled away from the incoming attacks, until a sandal got him in the back of the head. Matt stopped in his tracks, and got to his feet, silent. The same three demons leapt forward, ready to cluster pounce on Matt. Matt saw a suit of a statue of a medieval knight, wielding a sword of iron. He saw this as an opportunity. He leapt back, dodging the demons. He landed next to the suit or armor, and ripped the sword out of the statue's armored hands. He then aimed a slash at the demons, hoping it would hit. Two of the demons ducked and skittered back. However, one wasn't so lucky, and was sliced in half, its body parts plopping to the floor. The demon gaped its mouth open, and a blast of black smoke shot out of its mouth, and sped out of the church. The other demons looked on as Matt got into a combative position.

"Batter up!" shouted Matt.

Matt charged forward, aiming a spinning slash towards one demon. The blade cut its head off cleanly, no blood was spilt. The head rolled off its stump, and fell to the floor, following with the body slumping to the ground. The demons looked over at Matt and then at the corpse of their brethren, a blanched look on their faces. Matt charged at top human speed, running down the aisle, spinning and slashing his blade at any demon that got in striking distance.

Oh no," the demon reverend gaped as one of its brethren was beheaded by Matt and his blade; it then motioned to the two remaining demons, "Brothers! Protect me!"

Two demons stood in front of the altar, ready to protect their leader. Matt, however, showed no emotion as he continued to speed towards the trio. When he was 10 meters away, he swung his sword, but let go in mid swing, sending it spinning towards them like a Frisbee™. The spinning blade cut their heads off up to the jaw, and then lodged itself through the altar. The bodies of the two guarding demons slumped to the ground, their severed skulls with them. Matt sped forward with his high speed and leapt atop of the altar to see the surprised reverend lodged through the stomach with the sword blade. The demon attempted to open its mouth to escape in a flurry of smoke like its inferior before him, but Matt slapped a hand over its mouth, a small wisp fluttering out.

"Don't even think of trying to smoke out of that body like that bitch friend of yours," frowned Matt, "otherwise you'll end up like the others strewn about this church. Now, if you tell me where is Alastair, I'll let you smoke on out of here."

"Silly mortal, I'm right here."

Matt ripped the head off the demon reverend, and turned his head around. He saw a black man around Matt's age sitting far too casually in the front row. He had that familiar look on his face, but it was covered in blood. Matt's eyes widened in surprise as he finally recognized the black man before him.

"M…Marcel? You're Alastair!?" Matt asked, surprised.

"Kinda ironic, isn't it?" Alastair's eyes turned all white, a smirk formed on its face, "I mean, after all, it explains how Marcel didn't stop me. I embodied Marcel, and did the deed myself."

"But how did…how did you get through unnoticed by Lyra, Kayro and me?"

"Hey, I'm not one of the most powerful demons in Hell for nothing, you know. Very few demons can tell its me in a vessel. Now I have to admit, you pack quite a punch, especially with me at 10% of my real power back there at the burial site."

"Whatever," groaned Matt, "I know that you and your crew plan to use this city as a home base for some demon war."

"Lyra told you that, didn't she?" chuckled Alastair, "a simple half-truth. No, no, there will be a war, but this town will be its battleground."

"You bastard," growled Matt, "so what does this have to do with me? Why go after my parents and Marcel?"

"Marcel was a way so that I could get close to you and your friends. Your parents were both bait for traps that would ultimately kill you. Destiny writ that you would've went to rescue your mother. However, you chose to rescue your father and killed my right-hand man, Sable. You wish to know why? Because someone interfered, someone even I didn't expect to enter the fray."

"The merchant?"

"Nope, Kayro Koran. He holds a purpose greater than yours or mine. Because of Kayro, you had the strength to kill Sable."

"Wait a minute, if I foiled your plan to eliminate me, how come you didn't kill dad?"

"Matt, you altered destiny, that takes a lot of stones to do. I rewarded you for your efforts, and let you, your friends, and your father live."

"Well, that's all I needed to know. However, I still have one final question for you, Alastair."

"Okay, shoot."

"Why me?"

The demon cocked its head, confused, then chuckled to itself lightly. Matt had a mad look on his face.

"What the fuck's so funny? That question's been bothering the hell out of me for a while now!" snapped Matt.

"Matt…you underestimate yourself," chuckled Alastair with a grin, " I can't answer your question, because I seek that same answer as you do. Let us hope that the next time we have one of these little talks, at least one of us will hold that answer."

"Well, let us hope that after that talk, you'll be dead."

"Perhaps, or maybe it will be you."

"We're done here."

Matt leapt off of the altar, and strolled down the aisle, passing Alastair as he went.

"Oh, and one more thing," Matt whirled around to Alastair's voice, "be watchful of those in front of you, but beware of those behind. We'll be coming for you again, and this time, we will not fail."

Alastair got up from his seat, and shot his hand forward. Matt suddenly went flying back so far and fast that he shot out of the church. After ten seconds of shooting through the air, he crashed into a tree two miles from the church, which was ironically the same tree Marcel crashed into. The sycamore finally snapped, and the tree collapsed on top of him. As he fell into unconsciousness, he heard something.

"Matt!"

"Matt!"

_"Matt!"_

_"Matt..."_

And then everything went black.


	5. Lest We Forget

**Chapter 5 - Lest We Forget**

"Matt, wake up!"

"Gah!" Matt jetted up to a sitting position.

In a daze, Matt looked left and right at his surroundings. He was on his couch in his living room, which was now the one place that he despised most of all in the house. He could smell the stench of Febreeze all over the place, somewhat intoxicating Matt for a second. Matt looked over at himself. The suit he wore to the funeral was gone, and was replaced with a navy blue t-shirt that stuck to his body, baggy khaki jeans, and black converses. He had cuts, bruises, and strangely burns all over his arms. Suddenly, he felt as if he got hit by an 18-wheeler, then clutched his abdomen in pain.

"Oh, God, that sucked…" groaned Matt.

"Welcome back to the living, Matt Hawkins."

Matt turned around to see Lyra sitting on the edge of the couch. She was still wearing her funeral clothes, but instead of black dress shoes, she wore instead black sandals. It was funny to Matt that there are demons that are so…obstinate about their fashion sense. To Matt, they should be grateful they're back in the world of the living, and enjoy it while they could, if they're not taken down by Matt or some other random person.

"Jesus, how long was I out?" groaned Matt, scooting a bit towards Lyra, just for the sake of a conversation.

"Eh, about seven hours," answered Lyra with a shrug, but then giggled, "I found your body under a tree. Trying to make a tree house?"

"Sue me. But I can't lie…Alastair sure took a toll on me." Matt gently caressed his sore abs.

"Alastair?" Lyra's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean you found-"

"Yep, at the church, along with the reverend and ten other demons," Lyra still had her expression, but scooted next to Matt to hear more, "I was able to kill them by slicing them to ribbons with an iron sword, but then Alastair appeared, and shot me out of the church into that tree that I used to fuck up Marcel."

"Matt, nothing short of God can kill a demon," Lyra frowned, but then cocked her head, "You mean you sealed them into their vessels?"

"Sealed them?"

"That makes sense on how you were able to take out Sable, and those others. In order to physically seal a demon, you either remove the head, or destroy the jaw bone."

"You mean that's how they go in and out of a vessel? Through the mouth?"

"There's one other, but no one's that crazy to go through there, ugh…" Lyra shuddered, making Matt flinch, "but no less, if you, say, cut out their innards, then they can just smoke out of their bodies, and move on to another while their vessel dies of their injuries."

"That sucks," sighed Matt.

"I know."

Lyra got up and headed towards the front door.

"Say, Lyra," the demon turned around to face the sitting Matt, "before Alastair…shot me out of the church like a cannonball, he and I, err, talked."

"Talked?" Lyra was confused, "about what?"

"About everything - who he was, what vessel he was currently using, why he went after me and my parents, and…the war."

"Oh crud," Lyra face-palmed, "so he told you everything that you needed to know."

"Pretty much. Lyra, why didn't you tell me?" He shot Lyra a look of despair and anger, "Why didn't you tell me that this town is going to be a battleground, that Alastair was behind all these attacks, and that the motherfucker is using Marcel as his vessel!?"

"I…I didn't wish for so much pressure to be placed on you. I was unaware that he would actually _do_ what he did. And as for Marcel, I honestly didn't know that it was Alastair inside of him."

"But I can only think of one upside - all but one of my questions have been answered. And when I asked him 'why me', he had not a damn clue," Matt shook his head, and had a livid look on his face, "Y'know what, lets just drop it; I don't wish to talk further about it.

Lyra cocked her head, surprised. She didn't expect Matt to feel so…obstinate about things this serious. Lyra stepped forward, and sat down once more on the couch.

"Just give it time, Matt, you'll get better at this," Lyra sighed.

"What? I need more practice?" asked Matt, knowing all too well about what she meant.

"I'm not talking about sealing demons," Matt had a hard look on his face when she said it, "I know losing your mother and Marcel-"

"Hey!" snapped Matt, "I don't wanna talk about it."

There was a significant pause between them. After 30 seconds or so, Matt glared daggers at Lyra.

"You know what?" Matt's tone of voice seemed to make Lyra jump slightly, "where do you get off with your crap? How the hell would you know?"

"Demons nowadays were once human. We still remember how its like to lose someone," Lyra's answer shut Matt right up.

Lyra scooted over, and sat on Matt's lap. She kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I don't want to lose you, as well."

A hint of sadness radiated from her voice, which Matt felt almost instantly. He also felt a hint of lust in her voice, as well. Scared, Matt pushed her to her feet, and stormed off to the den, Lyra following him in his wake.

"What are you doing," stammered Matt, still on the move.

"Matt, it's okay," replied Lyra, frowning.

"No, that is anything BUT okay," Matt sat down on the edge of a recliner chair, and stared at his feet, trying to get his act together.

"What's wrong?"

"What's WRONG!?" Matt asked incredulously, "where do I BEGIN!?"

Lyra steadily approached him, and sat down once more on his lap, her legs wrapped around his waist lightly.

"Is it about your powers?" Lyra asked softly, "because I don't care if your scared of them," Lyra planted another kiss, which had Matt reel his head back slightly. Then Lyra pulled her shirt up just above her abdomen, grabbed Matt's wrist, and ran his fingers over her hips.

"Lyra, what are you doing?" Matt said, starting to get scared.

"Or is it because you're afraid to consummate with a demon? Because it's wrong, because it's bad, because you shouldn't?" Matt looked into her eyes, her longing eyes, "You have nothing to fear."

Matt was silent, his head looking down. Finally, he looked into her eyes, a fierce look of determination on his face. Lyra was surprised to see that his hazel irises suddenly changed into an electric blue color.

"Damn it all," Matt finally said.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Word Count: 1132

**Author's Note:** The next chapter, the Love in Shadows, is a XxlemonxX (or lime, or lymon, or whatever the fuck it's called). Is NOT recommended for those age 17+. If you don't wish to read the next chapter, then you are free to skip to Chapter Seven: Among the Sunlight.


	6. Love in Shadows

**Chapter 6 - the Love in Shadows**

It was all a blur for Matt. He was in what he seemed was a whirlwind as he was making out with Lyra, finally seeing her for what she truly was, now. In an act of strength, he picked her up off the ground, and began to clumsily move out of the den to the living room. And by clumsily moving, he actually stumbled multiple times, not truly knowing where he was going. Fortunately for Lyra, she wasn't faring any better, stumbling atop of him as he stumbled. And what was strange was the fact that Matt saw everything was in a electric blue hue, as if he was wearing blue shades; personally, he didn't really care. He was with Lyra, that was all that mattered to him. After a minute or so, the two lovers finally reached the living room. Lyra lightly pushed him towards the couch, but Matt didn't care, He plopped right down on the couch, too casually for his own good. Because a second later, Lyra was right atop of his lap, kissing him like her life depended on it.

And then Matt leaned back further and removed his t-shirt, tossing it aside. Lyra couldn't help but to adore his body. His time not only as a athlete, but also as a ranch hand had given Matt a toned and chiseled physique that was incredibly sexy. Matt didn't waste time to help remove her black tank top. Matt crushed the clasp of her bra with his thumb and index finger, which unhooked it. He removed it off of her and tossed it with their shirts. They were forgotten as far as they were concerned.

Matt couldn't help but to look at Lyra's body just as she looked at his. It was shocking how this demon, who as most likely killed more people than Matt could count, could remain so beautiful. He was beside himself due to her beauty. It was shameful that there are those who see women as objects. Matt was sure he'd never know, and he really didn't care at the moment.

He planted yet another kiss on Lyra, before he pulled away one last time so he could remove the rest of his clothes and help her with hers.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, they were both completely naked. Matt leaned back, letting her be on top for the time being.

"Are you nevous?" asked Lyra as she hovered over the augmented human.

"A little," answered Matt coyly.

Lyra ran her soft hand down his left arm, until it met the Demon Mark on his left hand, "You don't deserve to have such a curse to be bound upon you," Lyra looked at Matt, longing writ on her face.

Surprising to Lyra, the same longing was writ on his, "Fate can be a cruel bitch, huh?"

"So true," Lyra breathed before resting her chin on his torso.

"Well, lets face Fate together."

As if it his words were the cue, a burst of strength from Matt and he was atop of Lyra now, before he plunged into her, drawing a gasp from both lovers as Matt's virginity died and went to Hell. Lyra was aware that she lost her virginity long before she met him. But because there was so much love between them, Lyra felt as if she was losing hers all over again. She reached out, wrapping her arms around his back, her nails raking against him as he slowly thrust himself into her. He picked up his pace a bit, pounding into her harder, earning moans of satisfaction. His lips found hers, pressing into each other fiercely as she wrapped a leg around his waist, pulling him into her more. It seemed like a eternity passed before Matt drove Lyra through the first pleasure peak.

Lyra let loose a cry from the pleasure, his thrusts quickening faster than before. However, upon Matt hearing the cry that came from his lover's lips, he pulled out in fear that he might have hurt her. Unbeknownst to Matt, he was unaware that cries can also come from pleasure.

Lyra, though unhurt, was upset that Matt pulled out, so she simply wrapped her other leg around his waist, and pulled him right back in. She rolled her hips, urging him to continue.

"Please, don't stop," gasped Lyra.

"You sure?"

"Yes…"

And so the two continued their love making, and Matt then discovered why Lyra had cried out like that. He felt the pleasure flow through his body and voiced his own cry of pleasure. But something in his instincts told him that this was not the climax and to keep going.

It seemed a lifetime had gone by... a lifetime that was filled with pure, intoxicating pleasure and love. Finally, the orgasm hit them both full force at about the same time. Both lovers let loose howls of pleasure as the orgasm shot through their bodies like a shockwave, a feeling that completely consumed them with its mind-numbing effects.

Finally, when the last of her screams died in his ears, Matt pulled away, panting heavily and sweating from the excursion of their love-making. Lyra gasped for breath, her heart still seemed to be going a mile-a-minute. Matt rolled off her and lay on the couch beside her, both remained silent as they allowed each other to recover from their love-making. Lyra pressed herself up against his sweaty body, just for the feeling of having the one she loved so intimately close. Matt looked down at her and smiled thickly, even as his chest heaved for breath.

"I love you, Matt." Lyra breathed.


End file.
